TCA Raghavan calls on Sartaj Aziz ahead of first NSA-level talks

Islamabad: Indian High Commissioner TCA Raghavan today called on Pakistan's Advisor on National Security Sartaj Aziz ahead of his planned trip to India for the first-ever NSA-level talks on terrorism-related issues.

The meeting took place a day after Aziz said he would travel to India on August 23 for important security talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval. Foreign Office (FO) said in a brief statement that Raghavan called on Aziz.

"He (Raghavan) was informed that the Advisor (Aziz) would lead the Pakistan delegation for talks with the National Security Advisor of the Republic of India on 23-24 August," the FO stated. No further details of the meeting were provided. Yesterday, after Aziz announced he would visit India, the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said it was yet to get a 'confirmation' from Islamabad on the NSA-level talks.

The decision to hold the talks was taken when the Prime Ministers of the two countries met in Ufa, Russia last month on the sidelines of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit.

“The two sides agreed on a meeting in New Delhi between the two NSAs to discuss all issues connected to terrorism", a statement had cited after their interaction. India is expected to present strong evidence of terrorism emanating from Pakistan highlighted further by recent attacks in Gurdaspur in Punjab and near Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.

India's case is bolstered by the capture of Mohammed Naved Yakub, a Pakistani national and a LeT operative, who carried out an attack on a BSF bus last week near Udhampur.